A new research reveals that high cholesterol induced by an ketogenic diet does not predict heart disease

The Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation of the Harbor-Ucla Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers from several institutions, has published a new study which questions the longtime belief that high cholesterol is in correlation and even directly coronary diseases, or a plaque accumulation in the arteries of metabolically healthy individuals.

The study, published today in the Journal of the American College of CardiologyRecruited 100 metabolically healthy individuals according to a low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet which has developed high levels of high lean mass hyper-infonds from LDL cholesterol (LMHR). Researchers have found that traditional cholesterol markers (APOB and LDL-C) were not associated with heart disease or basic progression in this population, calling for investments in additional research and personalized treatment strategies.

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in the world, diagnosing and assessing risks high priority. The dominant theory of the risk of cardiovascular disease is the lipid hypothesis, which postulates that elevations of apolipoprotein B (APOB) and cholesterol of low density lipoproteins (LDL-C) are significant risk factors which should be targets of primary treatment. However, this new research questions the relevance of the lipid hypothesis in metabolically healthy individuals whose cholesterol level increases in response to a low carbohydrate ketogen diet – often adopted to meet important mental or physical health challenges.

As evidence accumulates for the effectiveness of reducing therapeutic carbohydrates to improve chronic conditions ranging from diabetes to inflammatory intestine disease to bipolar disorder, the study of cardiovascular risk of high cholesterol induced by food is more and more critical. Despite the striking beneficial effects that are observed following this therapy, adoption is often discouraged by doctors due to the increased risk of heart disease.

The study studied the relationship between LDL-C, APOB and the progression of the cardiac plate in a subpopulation of people who adopt low-carbohydrate plans and adapt the LMHR phenotype. This unique metabolic profile includes high levels of LDL-C and APOB despite levels of otherwise healthy metabolic markers, in particular low triglycerides, high HDL, low blood pressure, low resistance to insulin and a low body mass index.

The researchers found no association between the progress of the plate and the total exposure to changes in levels or basic levels of APOB and LDL-C. On the contrary, the burden of the base plate was identified as the strongest predictor of the future progression of the plate. These results suggest that high cholesterol is not always a marker of the progression of cardiovascular plaque and that people with LMHR phenotype can benefit from cardiac imagery to further assess their cardiovascular risk.

The results are based on previous work of the research team demonstrating that LMHR individuals have similar levels of coronary plate to a comparison group carefully corresponding with normal LDL levels, stressing that LDL increases induced by the ketogenic diet may not indicate a higher risk of coronary plate.

The research was co-directed by the principal author, Dr. Matthew Budoff, MD, investigator and program director and director of cardiac CT, and the president of preventive cardiology of the Lundquist for Biomedical Innovation of the Harbor-Ucla Medical Center. The study managers included independent researchers Nick Norwitz, Ph.D., Dr Adrian Soto-Mota, MD, and Dave Feldman, founder of the Citizen Science Foundation, who, only funded by the crowd for the study.

“It is important that clinicians, as well as the general public, are informed that personalized and data -oriented approaches to assess risks should be taken into account on the basis of individual conditions,” said Dr. Budoff, who is also a professor of medicine at David Geffen School of Medicine at the UCLA. “The existence of this phenotype suggests that alternative markers or tests should be used to establish metabolic health in certain cases.”

The study highlights a clear need to expand the risk assessment of cardiovascular disease to include a personalized approach that can prioritize heart imaging. Researchers also call for an open -minded multidisciplinary approach to better understand the risk of heart disease of people with LMHR phenotype, which often rely on low -carbohydrate and ketogenic diets to maintain chronic diseases at a distance.

The main dishes to remember:

• The prospective study followed 100 individuals following a low -gluketing ketogenic diet over a year. This population was classified as skinny and metabolically healthy and presented high cholesterol levels induced by a ketogenic diet.
• Advanced cardiac imagery (CT angiogram) in this population revealed that the levels of LDL cholesterol and Apolipoprotein B were not associated with the progress of the plate.
• The existing plate has predicted the accumulation of plaque in this population, which suggests that the plate, not cholesterol, should be used to assess cardiovascular health in the LMHR population.
• Scientists at the Lundquist Institute, as well as the rest of the research team, emphasize the importance of considering individualized approaches to the evaluation of cardiovascular risks between populations.

Supplied by the Lundquist Institute